YMCA Qwackers Pre-School

Inclusion: Strong standard

Leaders have an in-depth knowledge of their local community. They know what might prevent children's access to learning or families' abilities to engage. In response to this, leaders have undertaken extensive work to remove barriers to children's learning, both at the setting and to help families support their children's development at home. For example, they have shared resources with families to use at home and have purchased equipment that parents say helps their children, so that a consistent approach can be adopted. Leaders have made multiple adjustments to how staff do things, so each individual child receives tailored care and education.

Leaders swiftly identify children's emerging and changing needs. They implement effective information-sharing strategies so that all staff are well equipped in knowledge to meet children's individual needs. Leaders recognise the variety of vulnerabilities that children may face, ranging from children who have special educational needs and/or disabilities to children who fear the noise that the boiler makes in the bathroom.

Leaders spend additional funding wisely. Recently, investments have been made in sensory resources to help children calm when they are feeling upset. Staff spend one-to-one time with children to teach them how to use the resources so that children have the skills they need when the moment arises.

Children known or previously known to social care are safeguarded effectively. Leaders make adaptations to staff arrangements so that the best-placed person is available to offer the care that these children need, especially after a traumatic event. Leaders organise relevant training opportunities for staff so that staff hold the skills and knowledge they need to offer high-quality care to the most vulnerable children.

Curriculum and teaching: Expected standard

Overall, leaders support staff to implement a well-designed curriculum that they review and adapt frequently depending on children's changing needs. Currently, staff are focusing on supporting children's personal, social and emotional development as they settle back into the setting's routine following the summer holiday break. Staff are mostly effective in their teaching. They dedicate one-to-one time to children who need it, such as those with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND). That said, there are some areas of the curriculum that need development to more precisely match the knowledge and skills that children need to know, for example around the safe and appropriate use of technological devices. The lack of a precise focus on this area means that children may not fully obtain the knowledge and skills they need to navigate the technological world and internet wisely.

Staff support children's communication and language development well. They focus on teaching children with SEND new vocabulary by emphasising key words in sentences during play. Staff ask children open-ended questions about the book that they read at group times. This encourages children to use their developing language and communication skills to share their ideas and recall what they know. Staff have pitched their teaching of maths appropriately, helping younger children to learn basic counting skills before advancing to more complex knowledge.

Achievement: Expected standard

Generally, children make secure progress in their learning and development. Children who face barriers to their learning progress very well through accessing tailored learning opportunities. For instance, children who struggle socially are seen waiting patiently for their turn on the slide and show that they understand the dynamics of playing alongside others.

Some children show how they can confidently answer questions that staff ask during group-time activities. They explain how the character in the story has learned not to tell lies. New children quickly learn the names of others through listening carefully at welcome time. This helps them to later initiate play with their new friends.

Children are supported throughout the academic year to get ready for school. In the final term, leaders and staff pay extra attention to making sure children know the routines that they will follow when they start school.

Behaviour, attitudes and establishing routines: Expected standard

Leaders provide staff with resources to help children learn what is expected of them and what will happen in their day. Staff use visual aids particularly well with children who struggle to understand verbal direction. For example, they show children a picture to explain that it will be story time next.

Children learn skills from staff to get along well with others. Children copy staff to help their friends open food packets from their packed lunch. Staff model polite manners that they want children to learn, such as by thanking children for acts of kindness. They build respectful relationships with children, fostering the values that they want children to have when moving on to school and beyond.

Generally, children engage well in their learning. Occasionally, children's attitudes to learning deteriorate slightly when they are expected to sit and listen for too long. Staff do not always notice this and do not consistently adapt their planning of activities or teaching style accordingly.

Leaders work collaboratively with parents to encourage their children's regular and punctual attendance. They adjust children's session times to work around parents' working hours. Leaders help parents understand how to use the online app to report absences to aid robust monitoring of children's attendance. This helps to safeguard children.

Children's welfare and wellbeing: Expected standard

Leaders have considered some risks that they want children to be alert to in their lives and have directed staff to teach children important skills, such as crossing the road safely. Leaders make sure that children have opportunities to play outdoors every day, where children can test their physical capabilities safely in their play while using large climbing equipment. However, staff's interactions and the activities they plan do not include enough scope for children to learn about safe or appropriate screen-time use. This could have an impact on children's ability to make positive choices about using technology.

Children with special educational needs and/or disabilities, and children who have struggles away from the setting, benefit greatly from the resources that staff provide to help regulate their feelings and emotions. For instance, children are soothed as they push together poppers and undo them again. Staff use visual communication aids with children to help them express their feelings. Children point to different faces to explain when they are feeling angry or happy.

Staff who are key persons know their key children well. This includes obtaining and sharing information with the wider staff team about children's care routines, for example about whether children wear a nappy or use the toilet independently. Staff understand how important it is for children to eat healthy foods, but not enough is done to help parents choose appropriate lunch-box foods.

Leadership and governance: Expected standard

Leaders have met the action that was issued during recent regulatory work. They have made sure that all staff have increased their knowledge of safeguarding procedures, including around why it is so important to monitor children's attendance and what the setting's expectations are for the safe use of mobile phones. Staff demonstrate their knowledge of identifying when a child is at risk, and their understanding of how to respond appropriately.

Leaders take action to address pressures that staff face, for instance around increased workloads. They are in the early stages of recruiting a new permanent deputy manager who will assist the manager in their important role.

Leaders organise relevant and high-quality learning opportunities for staff. They encourage and support staff to complete higher-level qualifications. Recent training equips staff to better their practice when working with children who have faced trauma and children who have a variety of different special educational needs and/or disabilities.

Leaders consider where the setting is operating well and have identified some developments that would improve outcomes for children. That said, their focus on what matters most for children who attend this setting is variable, for example around identifying and promoting the most relevant health and wellbeing choices for children. Leaders are soon going to introduce home learning initiatives, which include links to stories and songs though scanning a QR code. This accessible method means that all parents will be able to support their children's development at home, even if they struggle with their own literacy abilities.